Physical exercise and healthy eating are important throughout life. Age changes these demands. A rising corpus of research evidence shows the importance of frequent physical exercise for older persons and the trend of seniors preferring active lifestyles over sedentary ones. This article discusses the benefits of physical activity for elders, the seven best activities for seniors, and the hazards of particular workouts. Have a look at Senior health and wellness

Best Exercise for Seniors:

Seniors need to exercise, but starting a program may be difficult. For inactive people, resuming exercise might be scary.

1. Water aerobics

Water aerobics is popular among all ages, especially the elderly. Arthritis sufferers may workout in water. Water resistance eliminates the need for weights in strength training. Water aerobics improves strength, flexibility, and balance while reducing physical stress.

Senior water aerobics includes:

• Flutter kicking and aqua jogging are popular exercises.
• Leg lifts are done laying down or hanging from a bar
• arm curls and standing water push-ups.

2. Chair yoga:

Chair yoga is low-impact. This exercise improves muscular strength, mobility, balance, and flexibility in seniors. Chair yoga is accessible and easy on the musculoskeletal system.

Chair yoga has been shown to improve senior mental health. Chair yoga improves sleep, depression, and general health.

Senior chair yoga includes:

• Overhead stretch
• Seat twist
• Sitting cow stretches
• Sitting mountain stance
• Sitting cat stretches

3. Resistance band exercises.

Rubber resistance bands give resistance to activities without straining the body. Resistance band workouts are simple and accessible. Due to their inexpensive initial cost, resistance band exercises are becoming popular among the elderly as a home-based exercise alternative. These exercises strengthen central muscles, improving alignment, flexibility, and stability.

Elderly resistance band workouts include:

• Leg presses are lower-body resistance exercises.
• Triceps presses include elbow extension.
• Weightlifting’s bicep curl targets the muscle.
• Band pulls

4. Pilates :

Pilates is exercise.Controlled breathing and movements develop core muscles, improve flexibility, and promote body balance and control. Pilates, a low-impact workout, has grown in popularity.Pilates is a 100-year-old low-impact training program. Pilates emphasizes breathing, alignment, attention, and core strength.

5.walking

Walking is a low-stress, convenient exercise. Seniors’ distance and step targets depend on their walking abilities.Walking strengthens muscles and reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and colon cancer.

Elderly walking workouts:

• Find a moderate park path.
• Find a walkable race for training.
• Circle a familiar building.
• Find a walking-friendly audiobook or playlist.

Physical activity elderly individuals should avoid:

Most popular workout programs may not be suitable for seniors. Younger people looking to gain muscle or lose weight prefer the above workouts. These routines may strain older persons with joint discomfort, muscular atrophy, posture concerns, or balance issues.

If above 65, avoid the following exercises:

• Strength training and fitness programs often include dumbbell or weighted squats.
• The bench press targets the chest by laying flat and raising a weighted barbell with both arms.
• Leg presses target the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes using weight machines.
• Long-distance running.
• Abdominal crunches
• Deadlift
• Rock climbing involves employing specialized equipment to scale difficult rock formations.
• Power cleans require explosively raising a barbell from the ground to the shoulders.